Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall

in love at rock bottom—up.

As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight.

Until he found me.

Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.

But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.

Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?

Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.

*****5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars*****

I’d like to start this review by saying that I would like to fall up into this book and live there for the rest of time. Seriously. If it were humanly possible I would do it. I would find myself within the amazing pages of this breathtakingly beautiful story that is chalk full of some of the best characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and I would never leave.

The Fall Up by Aly Martinez was that good. It was that memorable. It was that emotional and moving and heart squeezing. It was that consuming. It was that everything.

This book, just like every other book that Aly Martinez has ever written, completely awed me mind, body, and soul. The Fall Up and its unforgettable characters glued themselves to my heart from the moment I started reading, and I don’t ever want them to fully leave me. When I tell you I felt every word of this book, I mean I felt, and breathed, and lived every single word. My heart and mind were there every step of the way, living and experiencing it all fully in the most magnificent and all-feeling way. That was all possible because of what Aly Martinez so phenomenally crafted and created with her outstanding writing.

This book moved me. This book allowed me experience an enrapturing story laced with everything that makes a book exceptional. It made me laugh, and cry, and think, and hope, and just feel. It gave me it all, and I basked in that because it was all extraordinary to experience. The Fall Up gave me everything, and that is just part of what made this book so utterly unforgettable.

The Fall Up tells the breathtakingly emotional story of Levee Williams and Sam Rivers. Two people from very different walks of life, who find themselves on the same bridge, contemplating a world of things. They’re both on that bridge for different reasons, but they share the fact that they’ve both experienced more pain than any one person deserves to go through. They both know pain and loss, and what it feels like to not know which way is up because it feels like you’re just going to succumb and get lost in every heartbreaking thing you’re feeling. You see when Sam and Levee meet on that bridge their lost, and they’re looking for something. When they meet they don’t even know that they’re looking for something, but they know something needs to change.

That feeling along with so many other things is what brings them together on that bridge. In the most unlikely of meetings, something sparks between them. They see something in one another that they can’t let go of. Something they can’t forget or stop thinking about. Something that gives them hope and makes them feel and starts bringing them back to life. The Fall Up explores what happens when two people who’ve got some pretty heartbreaking cracks decide to see if they can fight together to heal those cracks and find their way up.

Now let me tell you that the characters of this book are some of my favorite characters EVER. They were just kind of the best. They were easy to fall for, easy to care and fight for, and so beyond easy to love and connect to. I heart them all something fierce, but Sam and Levee, the main couple of the hour, will always hold a special place in my heart.

Levee Williams is a famous singer who is beyond lost, and she’s sinking fast when you meet her. Over the course of the story you get to see what led Levee up to that bridge, and why she feels the immense level of things that she does. I can’t tell you enough how much I was blown away by her character. Aly Martinez allowed me to understand her, to get why she felt the way she did, and to feel for her so much because of all that she was going through. There were so many times while reading that I wanted to reach in, hug that girl, and tell her she could do it. I was so beyond emotionally invested in her, and I loved getting to see all the different sides to her character. There was the side of her the whole world go to see, the side of her that Sam got to see that was full of sass and banter and goodness, and the side of her that she let us and Sam start to see that was full of authenticity, vulnerability, and more heartfelt beauty than you can shake a stick at. Levee is an extraordinary character that you will love with your entire heart. Trust Me.

Sam Rivers is hands down one of the most endearing and heart stealing male characters that I have ever read. He was charming, and hysterical, and he made me feel so much through every single page. Like Levee, Sam finds himself on that bridge for a lot of reasons. He’s got a past full of pain and hurt that is revealed as the story progresses, and you get the phenomenal chance to see how that past shapes Sam’s character and the choices that he makes in both the past and present. One of my favorite things about Sam though has to be how honest and downright good his character is. He isn’t afraid to say the hard stuff, to be honest, to make the right choices even if they aren’t easy, and that had me loving and respecting his character all throughout this book. I think it’s literally impossible to not fall under the effervescent and wonderfully distinctive spell of Sam Rivers. You can’t meet his good, repurposing, tattoo covered self without falling hard, and I guarantee by the end of this book you’ll never want to say goodbye to him.

Sam and Levee definitely go on one helluva journey in The Fall Up that is full of emotional ups and downs you feel every lick of. These two don’t have the easiest of beginnings or middles for that matter, but those two are fighters. They’re flawed and real and have experienced a world of pain, and through this book you get to experience how they attempt to fight through all of that. You get to see them explore the immense and spark filled connection they share, while they try to find some much needed healing along the way. The more they fall, the more you fall right along with them. Their feelings are intense, visceral at times, and woven throughout this story in the most extraordinary way.

Sam and Levee’s journey together is full of banter, sparks, feels, jaw dropping moments, and real honest to goodness emotions that will blow you away with everything they’ve got.

Like I said, Sam and Levee don’t have the easiest of journey’s, but their missteps, their flaws, their pasts, and their presents make them who they are, and they make this story so distinctive and them in the very best way. Their story and what they share is so much more meaningful because of everything that they go through, every ounce of fight that they have, and everything that they’re doing to get that ending that they both so truly crave and deserve. All throughout reading The Fall Up, you’ll fall more and more under their dynamic and effervescent spell, and you’ll just love what you get from them both as they try to figure out what they could share if they really gave it all a chance.

Like any book by Aly Martinez this book was brimming with the most amazing supporting characters, so many moments and lines that’ll have you laughing like crazy, blushing in the best way, and tearing up for a multitude of reasons, and a distinctiveness that defines her books in the best way. You get it all in this book. It not only gave me all the feels, all the triumphs, and all the falls, it gave me a set of characters I truly loved and felt so enraptured with. All of the characters were fantastic and real, and I could write a whole other review on my love of Henry. Really. (I a book for him like yesterday!) There’s also an extraordinary distinctiveness that weaves its way through any Aly Martinez book through her dynamic characters, the story she so fully gives you, and her magnificent writing that creates the moments and incredible reading experiences that highlight what sets her books a part.

Aly Martinez allowed my heart to be in this book every moment. I will never forget what it was like to experience the literal reading magic that she so thoughtfully creates in every page of this book. She weaves together an incredible story that is bursting with two outstanding and well-developed characters that give you a story you will never stop loving and feeling. Her talent as a writer brings this book to life in the most exceptional of ways, and I know that I will always carry this book with me in some way, shape, or form.

The Fall Up is a book that gives you it all. It gives you Sam and Levee, two people searching for what comes next, what will heal them, and what could happen if they take that leap of faith, and see where that breathtaking fall could take them if they only take that terrifying and incredible step. It gives you moments with them that’ll blow you away with everything they’ve so truly give you, and moments that’ll give you them so authentically and fully in a way that’ll have you loving them both by page 2. It gives you such a well-rounded reading experience that will thrill you, squeeze your heart, and heal you, while filling you with so much, hope, love, and fight as these two try to figure out what they could share together.

Like I said, if I could live in this book I would. What I got to experience with Levee and Sam is truly something else, something all-feeling, and something that you don’t often get in the books you read.

Simply put, The Fall Up by Aly Martinez is superb in every way, and if I could give it all the stars in the world, I would.

“Thank fuck!” Sam said, swinging the door open before Devon even had the car in park.

“Oh, this isn’t my place. We’re just dropping Devon off. I’m about twenty minutes across town?” I tossed him a sugary smile then boldly shifted my hand into his lap, purposely brushing the bulge under his denim.

Grabbing my wrist, he narrowed his eyes and called out, “Devon, I’m gonna need to borrow a bedroom.”

I burst out laughing as Devon cursed loudly.

“Fine. This is my place. No smoking inside though,” I snipped as I climbed from the SUV.

“Not exactly what I was thinking.” He mischievously cocked his head. “But I guess paddles and balls are as good a start as any.” Dipping down, he hoisted me over his shoulder. “Point me to the Ping-Pong table, my lady.”

I didn’t. I laughed hysterically as he carried me inside. Then I directed him to my bedroom instead.

I heard Devon locking up the house as Sam deposited me on the bed.

“Jesus. This view.” He pushed the curtains back. “Why the hell would you ever go up to the bridge when you have this here?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, pulling my earrings off and placing them on my nightstand.

Oh, but I knew. It might not have been what had originally sent me up that bridge, but it was why my feet carried me back every night. And that very reason was currently standing in front of me with entirely too much clothing on.

“You want a beer?” I asked, sliding my shoes off.

“Nah, I’m good.” He faced me, and I could tell something was off with his demeanor. He didn’t inch any closer. Instead, his lips were tight and his eyes uncomfortably flashed around the room.

It suddenly didn’t feel like Sam standing in front of me at all.

He felt like a stranger who had just come face-to-face with Levee Williams.

Damn it.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you about to freak out?” I whispered, nervously moistening my lips.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not really sure yet. But I’m gonna need you to stop licking your lips long enough for me to figure it out.” His mouth cracked into a wide grin, and my shoulders relaxed.

Now that was a flash of my Sam.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s just… I think this is the first time I’ve realized that you’re some big-time celebrity. I might be in over my head here, Designer Shoes.”

“I just make music, Sam.” I returned his smile and very slowly prowled in his direction. “Imagine how I feel though. You’re Samuel Nathan Rivers. A tough, tattooed furniture designer who makes six figures a year but is too afraid to tell his mommy he votes democratic.” I giggled as he frowned humorously. Stopping in front of him, I dragged a fingernail down his chest then teased the waistband of his jeans. “Have you considered that maybe I’m the one who’s in over her head here?” I leaned forward to nip at his lips, but he spun us around.

“Excellent point. I’m going to need you to try really hard to keep it together, Levee. You haven’t even seen my six-pack and huge cock, yet.” He smirked and attempted to return my nip, but I stepped out of his reach.

“You brought beer and chicken?” I feigned excitement.

That one corny joke was all it took to bring my Sam back completely.

With a sexy smile and a coy shrug, he seductively backed me toward the bed. “What can I say? I like to be prepared.”

“Clearly,” I breathed.

He moved in close so his lips were only a centimeter away, but for as much as I wanted him, it was agonizing. “Clearly,” he repeated, his smoky yet sweet breath breezing across my mouth.

His strong arm looped around my waist, tugging me against his chest, while I stared into his hooded eyes, eagerly waiting for him to make a move.

Any move.

Every move.

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

Will Ashton
Music is my motivation. I’ve always believed that, because of it, I would be somebody. Somebody to someone, and something to myself.At age four, I picked up my grandfather’s acoustic guitar and, up until three weeks ago, I’ve never put it down. From a single chord to a full arrangement, music fed my soul. I craved it with every fiber of my being, but now, I just don’t know. That driving force that’s always pushed me has somehow stalled, along with the thrill, the passion, and the familiarity . . . it’s all gone. I’m beginning to worry that my love for music just isn’t enough.

As the summer tour finally comes to an end, I head to the Blue Ridge Mountains instead of returning to Nashville. It’s here that I’ve always been able to lose myself amongst the solitude and the lake, but what I didn’t expect to find was her.

Wild blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a laugh I find myself trying to coax from her has me completely enamored. She’s quiet, incredibly poised, and driven by secrets as big as the mountains around us. They’re what’s made her untouchable, and left me wanting to know more.
Maybe that’s what I need. Maybe I need more. Maybe I need her.

Ava Layne

They say that life isn’t about how many breaths we take, but how many moments take our breath away. But what if those moments aren’t filled with happiness and love, but something dark and haunting? For me, it’s those moments that’ve shaped and taken over my life. I can’t change who I am, God knows I’ve tried, and, because of this, I’ve accepted the silver lining . . . I’m alive.

Fifty-two white keys, thirty-six black keys, ten fingers, seven notes, two friends, and one stage. At the piano, on the stage, with my two best friends, I finally found myself, and I live for those moments. One by one, I collect them, cherish them, patiently waiting for the next, until it arrives and changes everything. That’s the moment I meet him.

*****5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars*****

Every once and awhile I come across a book that I know will stay with me forever. A book that moves me, that allows me to feel everything, and gives me the chance to so truly and authentically live and breathe within its magnificent pages. A book filled with such phenomenal characters weaving their way through an unforgettable story that captures me in mind, body, and soul, and truly never lets me go.

Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews was all that and more.

This book is hands down one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year, and I know that Ash and Ava and their emotionally breathtaking story will stay with me in so many ways. You don’t read a book so eloquently and beautifully written as this one without having some part of it stay with you permanently. The fantastic characters, the captivating story, and all of the superb feelings and emotions emanating so outstandingly from Blue Horizons found their way deep into my heart right from the very start, and I know they’re here to stay.

It’s pretty safe to say that Kathryn Andrews is one of my favorite authors. Her books are ones that I love and feel every word of, and they’ve all taken me on some incredibly enrapturing journeys with some amazing and wonderful characters. Her writing is so fluid and seamless, and allows you to become so wonderfully consumed and invested in what she is creating. You don’t just read her books, you live through them with these characters because of how outstanding her writing is. She puts you there, heart first, feeling, experiencing, and loving it all because of how connected you are to the story and its characters.

I could honestly go on and on about how much I love her fantastic writing, and how much I connected to Ash and Ava throughout her thoughtfully crafted and beautifully written book. Her words just give so much, and I gladly took all of it because it was all amazing to experience.

Blue Horizons tells the emotionally enrapturing story of Ash and Ava, two musical souls searching for something more. They both find themselves in the mountains of North Carolina, a bit lost, seeking some time to recharge, and looking for that something more that they both so truly crave and seek. What they find is each other, and a whirlwind of immense feelings that leads them to places they never thought they’d be. Ash and Ava have both gone through so much in their pasts and present, and in Blue Horizons you get the phenomenal chance to go along with them on their emotional journey as they figure out what they could share with one another, if they only gave it a chance and fought for that light in the dark.

Kathryn Andrews weaves so many phenomenal aspects together in this Blue Horizons to make it such a well-rounded book that gives a truly extraordinary and all-feeling reading experience. You get the emotions and feelings from both of these characters that drive this story to the most breathtaking places. You get a bit of mystery that is fantastically added into the story pulling you into everything you’re reading so immensely, and with each new puzzle piece to the story and characters you get, you end up loving these characters and everything you’re experiencing with them all the more.

You also get music. So much amazing and beautiful music that is woven so fantastically into the core of these characters and the story itself in such a way that reading this book is like listening to your favorite song. Your love for it just builds and builds throughout, and once you reach that cadence and that peak that love is amplified times a million, and all throughout you simply can’t get enough and want to replay it over and over again.

I couldn’t get enough of Ash and Ava. I still can’t get enough of Ash and Ava as I sit here writing this review. I love those two something fierce, and all throughout Blue Horizons, I wanted to reach in and hug them both, cheer them on, and let them know that they were the best because that’s what they were.

Ash was just an honest to goodness good guy. I can’t say enough how much that goodness emanated from him in Blue Horizons, and how much I love and respected his character. I fell so hard for him right from the start, and I lost count of the amount of times that man made me full on swoon. He’s pretty much the best, and you will love, feel, and connect to him right from the moment you start this book. When you meet him, he is burnt out and looking for a break and maybe a little something more. What he finds on that break is certainly the more he’s been searching for, and will scare him, move him, and bring out so much in him that will leave you breathless in the best possible way. Suffice to say, I heart me some Ash, and that man is truly golden in my eyes.

Ava’s character was one that I felt connected to from the moment I met her. She is very real and relatable, and so easy to love. She also has one of the most heart squeezing and pain filled stories I’ve ever read, yet she is fighting through it all and doing her best to just be. There were so many moments where my heart shattered for her. I felt beyond emotionally connected to her as I got all of the pieces to her, and I was so invested in her journey as a character because of how breathtakingly beautiful Kathryn Andrews created her character. When you meet Ava in this story she is pushing through it all, just trying to get by and past the darkness that has surrounded her for so long. She’s looking for that light, that beacon of hope to pull her through and to fill her with everything she’s been searching for, and that is where one Will Ashton comes in and changes everything.

Ash and Ava definitely go through a journey in Blue Horizons. It isn’t always easy for them, in fact it’s downright hard from time to time, but through it all these two keep pushing and fighting and giving it their all so that they can explore what it is that they share. Their evolution together and the effect they have on one another will have you loving them all the more, and truly feeling what those two mean to one another.

They have so many moments in this book that will make your heart melt from the feeling what they’re sharing, and what they’re putting on the line. So many moments where your heart will break and squeeze for them because of what they’re going through as they try to figure out what it is that they could share. They also share so many moments that will have your heart racing because of the butterflies and spark that they so authentically and immensely create for one another.

You get it all with Ash and Ava. Their emotional and all-feeling journey is one that will consume you from beginning to end, and have you experiencing every ounce of what they are as they give their all in the hopes of finding that light and that more that they both are seeking and so truly deserve.

I really could continue telling you about how much I loved Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews. I could tell you more about the amazingness that is Ash and Ava, and their emotional and breathtaking journey together that you will feel so truly with your entire being. I could let you know about all the supporting characters that round out this book, and make it even more enjoyable to read. I could keep telling you about every single memorable moment of this book that had me smiling like crazy, tearing up more times than I could count, laughing and blushing and just feeling it all. I could even keep talking about Kathryn Andrews and her outstanding writing that brought the world of this book and these distinctive and wonderful characters to life.

I could continue for pages and pages about how much I loved this book, and I still wouldn’t come close to capturing how extraordinary Blue Horizons is. I wouldn’t come close to doing this book, its unforgettable story, and its phenomenal characters the justice they so rightly deserve. Kathryn Andrews truly blew me away with everything she gave me in Blue Horizons.

I felt it all. I lived it all. I loved it all.

Like I said, every once and awhile you read a book that moves you. A book that lets you feel and experience it all so wholly. A book that makes you realize why you read, because when you read a book like Blue Horizons, you’re reading pure literary goodness and magic that will take you on a journey you won’t soon forget. Reading a book as exceptional as this one just reminded me over and over again why this author is one of my favorites, and why the stories and characters she so beautifully crafts are ones I will always remember and treasure.

Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews is a book that gives you everything. It’s book about two musical souls searching for that something more, and the pure, unadulterated magic that can happen when you get a glimpse and find that someone who shows you the light and the feeling you’ve been searching for. It’s a story about giving it your all, finding the beauty in overcoming all the pain, and experiencing that glorious and beautiful light that can truly change your life if you let it.

This book is beautiful, feeling, and breathtaking in every way, shape, and form, and I promise you that you will be left in awe with all that Ash and Ava give you. They will blow you away with everything they’ve got, and in the end, you will love and bask in every single incredible and remarkable moment they so truly give you in this exceptional book.

Read this book. Feel this book. Let it consume you, and let Ava and Ash steal your heart a million times over. You won’t be sorry one little bit that you gave them that chance. Trust me.

OVER TEN YEARS ago my husband and I were driving from Chicago to Tampa and somewhere in Kentucky I remember seeing a billboard that was all black with five white words, “I do, therefore I am!” I’m certain that it was a Nike ad, but for me I found this to be completely profound.Take running for example. Most will say that a runner is someone who runs five days a week and runs under a ten minute mile pace. Well, I can tell you that I never run five days a week and on my best days my pace is an eleven minute mile. I have run quite a few half marathons and one full marathon. No matter what anyone says . . . I run, therefore I am a runner.

I’ve taken this same thought and applied it to so many areas of my life: cooking, gardening, quilting, and yes . . . writing.

I may not be culinary trained, but I love to cook and my family and friends loves to eat my food. I cook, therefore I am a chef!

My thumb is not black. I love to grow herbs, tomatoes, roses, and lavender. I garden, therefore I am a gardener!

I love beautiful fabrics and I can follow a pattern. My triangles may not line up perfectly . . . but who cares, my quilts are still beautiful when they are finished. I quilt, therefore I am a quilter.

I have been writing my entire life. It is my husband who finally said, “Who cares if people like your books or not? If you enjoy writing them and you love your stories…then write them.” He has always been my biggest fan and he was right. Being a writer has always been my dream and what I said I wanted to be when I grew up.

So, I’ve told you who I am and what I love to do . . . now I’m going to tell you the why.
I have two boys that are three years a part. My husband and I want to instill in them adventure, courage, and passion. We don’t expect them to be perfect at things, we just want them to try and do. It’s not about winning the race; it’s about showing up in the first place. We don’t want them to be discouraged by society stereotypes, we want them to embrace who they are and what they love. After all, we only get one life.

In the end, they won’t care how many books I actually sell . . . all that matters to them is that I said I was going to do it, I did it, and I have loved every minute of it.
Find something that you love and tell yourself, “I do, therefore I am.”